WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Thursday he is withdrawing the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be the ambassador to the United Nations amid growing concerns from Republicans about holding onto their narrow majority in the U.S. House.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said he asked Stefanik to remain in Congress to help advance his legislative agenda, ending the nomination of the five-term congresswoman and close Trump ally to be the top U.S. diplomat at the U.N.
“With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat,” Trump said. “The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations. Therefore, Elise will stay in Congress, rejoin the House Leadership Team, and continue to fight for our amazing American People.”
Republicans control the House 218-213, leaving only a two-vote margin in order to win any majority vote, with four vacancies currently in the chamber.
A pair of special elections next Tuesday in Florida will determine who replaces former GOP Reps. Michael Waltz and Matt Gaetz. Waltz is now serving as Trump’s national security adviser while Gaetz is a television host after he withdrew his nomination to be attorney general amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Republicans have signaled concerns about the Florida congressional race to replace Waltz even though Trump won Walz’s former district, which includes Daytona Beach and Saint Augustine, by 30 percentage points in 2024. The GOP candidate, Randy Fine, has been out raised in cash significantly by Democratic nominee Josh Weil, a math teacher.
Meanwhile, in a sign of Democratic enthusiasm amid Republican control in Washington, Democrat Dan Goughnour won a Pennsylvania state Senate special election Tuesday in a district outside of Pittsburgh that Trump won by 15 percentage points.
More: ‘We’re energized’: Recovering Democrats find hope in special election wins in Pennsylvania
Had Stefanik exited her upstate New York seat in Congress, House Republicans would have been forced to defend another historically Republican district against off-year election headwinds. Stefanik won her most recent 2024 reelection by 24 percentage points against her Democratic opponent.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., released a statement Thursday saying Trump withdrew Stefanik’s nomination because the Republican agenda is “extremely unpopular” and they are “running scared.”
Stefanik had previously served as Republican House Conference chairwoman but she was replaced in January by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., after Trump nominated Stefanik to the ambassador role.
Stefanik’s career had been in limbo since Trump picked her to join his Cabinet last November.
She was still serving in the House while awaiting Senate confirmation to the U.N. job, but GOP leaders there delayed a final vote because Speaker Mike Johnson has needed Stefanik to pass bills, including measures to keep the government from shutting down and another to take the first step on implementing Trump’s policy agenda.
Johnson wrote on X on Thursday that he’d invite Stefanik back into the Republican leadership “immediately.”
More: Who is Elise Stefanik? Donald Trump picks major House ally to be next UN ambassador
CBS News first reported Stefanik’s nomination was in jeopardy, and Reuters later Thursday cited a White House official who said discussions were underway on whether the six-term lawmaker should withdraw.
Stefanik, 40, is a close Trump ally who was on the Republican’s list last summer of potential vice presidential picks. The president chose Stefanik for the U.N. job role less than a week after he was elected in November.
Her nomination only recently became the subject of discussions among Republicans. Last month, Stefanik embarked on a farewell tour of her district – a largely rural portion of the state that includes Glen Falls, Rome, the Adirondack Mountains and the U.S.-Canadian border – in anticipation she would be leaving her seat soon.
U.S. Ambassador Designate to the United Nations Elise Stefanik during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S.
Trump said in February that the U.N. has “great potential and … we’ll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together.” The U.N. pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.
Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced U.S. plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he’s withdrawing Stefanik’s UN ambassador nomination
